Cinnamon Rolls and Other Tooth Rotting Things
by PokeyDotes
Summary: Peter befriends Bucky, because why not? Tony needs coffee.


Peter Parker was what the kids called a Cinnamon Roll.

Whatever the fuck that meant.

But Tony could agree, at least it _sounded_ right, or it did at the moment while he was standing in the kitchen, back leaned up against the counter, coffee cup in hand, and forehead wrinkled in baffled amusement as he watched what had to be the most surreal and… _innocent_ scene play out around the living room coffee table.

If anything involving James Buchanan Barnes could be categorized as "innocent." But yeah, Tony wasn't going to touch that. Not before he'd finished his coffee anyhow.

But there he was, sitting on the floor, legs folded beneath him, back pressed to the couch. He'd pulled his hair up into something resembling a slept-on messy bun and his beard was growing in thicker. Add in the metal arm and he looked like some sort of commando hipster.

But he was smiling. Sort of. There was a definite smirk on his face. Probably had something to do with the fact that Peter was sitting across from him, legs folded just the same, lips pressed together in a tight line as his concentrating little frown caused the bridge of his nose to wrinkle.

Damn he looked young.

Peter seemed to be thinking hard, strategizing, but Barnes didn't seem to be in a hurry. He looked at the two cards still in his hand as he casually popped a pizza roll in his mouth. "You've only got five cards," he said, licking the grease off his fingers, "You either have one to lay down or you don't."

Peter rearranged his cards, looked at the pile already on the coffee table, looked back at the cards in his hand, and then glanced up to Barnes.

"How's the whole anger management thing going?"

Barnes froze halfway to grab another pizza roll, the smirk falling away as he stared at Peter. "Kid, if you put down another fucking Draw Four…"

"It's kinda your fault. You know, if you think about it," Peter said, fighting a smile and trying to look apologetic as he set down the card. "If you hadn't laid down green, I wouldn't have had to do this."

Barnes continued to stare, face blank, eyes focused on Peter, and for a brief moment, Tony felt a sense of panic, of worry that Barnes wasn't really doing so well with the whole rehabilitation thing, because Tony had seen that look before.

But the panic passed as soon as it came, because Barnes sighed, shook his head and said with a deadpanned tone, "You little shit."

Peter simply smiled as "Bucky" reached forward and drew four more UNO cards.

Tony wasn't gonna lie, this was not what he imagined happening when he agreed to take Barnes in. There had been an argument about rehabilitation, reintegration, and relaxation—all things that could have happened somewhere else—but whatever. Tony still hadn't finished his coffee, so time to change the subject.

He remembered Peter walking off the elevator weeks before, steps faltering as he saw Barnes standing beside Steve Rogers. Tony had kind of forgotten about the whole Germany thing—forgotten, chosen to mentally suppress, whatever—and only remembered at that moment that Peter had gone hand to hand with the man so many years before.

There were a few moments of stifling awkward silence as Peter looked back and forth between the two towering men and Tony who'd been perched on the couch, chin propped on his fist as he took in the scene.

In hindsight, Tony probably should have warned the kid.

He probably would have had he remembered that Peter was coming over.

But Steve, ever the commanding gentleman, gracefully bulldozed through the awkwardness in a way that only he could. He gave Peter a welcoming nod and then gestured toward Barnes. "Hey, Peter. This is my friend-,"

Peter nodded, hands fiddling with the cuffs of his sleeves. "Yeah, we uh, we've met," he said, voice low as he looked to Barnes, posture stiff, looking very much like he was teetering on the line between fight or flight.

Tony vaguely wondered what his Spidey-sense was doing.

But Barnes, brainwashed or not, picked up on Peter's obvious discomfort too, because he immediately stopped his posturing, uncrossed his arms, and adopted something that looked like an amused and cocky crooked smile, head tilted to the side as he gestured to Peter with his chin, "You the bug boy?"

Peter rolled his eyes and looked both somewhat annoyed and embarrassed. "Spider-Man," he corrected, and yeah, he was adorable.

Barnes' grin grew, clearly amused, as he stepped forward, "Okay then," he said, offering his hand, "I'm Bucky."

Peter gave Tony a quick look before reaching out and shaking Barnes' hand. "Peter."

And that was that.

Or it should have been, because Tony had made it very clear that Peter was not to spar with Barnes. He was not to go on any missions or train with Barnes. He was not to ask the man questions about the past or about his arm or about Wakanda or what the Captain was like way back when.

"In fact it's probably best if you just pretend he's not here altogether."

"If he's so dangerous, then why is he here?"

"He's not dangerous, not anymore apparently."

"But I still can't-,"

"No, you can't."

Tony should have known better though. The kid was a fucking savant when it came to finding loopholes and technically Tony had never outlawed UNO.

So there they were, trash talking each other over a card game and fighting over the last of the pizza rolls.

Unfuckingbelievable.

Tony rolled his eyes and turned only to find a somewhat happy looking Steve Rogers standing behind him. Pepper would probably describe him as happy, anyway.

Tony would describe him as smug, but whatever.

But in all fairness, his friend was currently not tearing through the city on a blind, murderous rampage. Maybe there was a little room for happy.

Didn't mean Tony had to admit it out loud. Instead, he gestured to the living room with his coffee and said, "Your kid better not corrupt my kid."

Steve tilted his head and crossed his arms, his forehead creasing in consideration as he watched the two in the other room. "I'm pretty sure Peter'll be the one corrupting Bucky."

There was an incredulously moaned "duuuude," that filtered in from the living area followed by a deep, delighted chuckle. Tony turned to see Peter drawing more cards while Barnes smiled. Not a smirk or a grin, but an actual beaming smile.

"Maybe that's not a bad thing," Tony conceded, "Kid might be good for him."

Tony knew it was coming before Steve opened his mouth, there was no need to say it, but Steve said it anyway. "He was good for you."

Pure smugness.

"Shut up."

Tony left the kitchen to the sound of Steve's quiet laughter and Bucky's triumphant cries of "UNO!"

Fucking cinnamon rolls.


End file.
